Sorry, I didn't see your car !

[taylormj4]

Returned to my car and was thinking that's pretty bad parking, I don't remember leaving it at an angle to the kerb like that. Then realised that someone had driven into the rear OS corner and pushed it !

Back OS outer lens cracked and the rear light cluster driven into the boot, ripping the screws/bolts out of all it's mountings and just leaving it hanging on its wiring. The rear wing is badly cracked and cracks running back along the wing and above the light area.

Can't believe it. Only just got it back from a full service and a load of other repairs.

No note left on the car but several local witnesses. Did a bit of door to door and then the guy decided to do the honourable thing and returned to leave his contact details with a guy on the street.

So, can anyone recommend a good bodyshop that can rebuild the fibre glass and do respray work. Looking for someone who knows TVRs, has worked on them lots and can do a really good job. Don't mind longer distances as the car is still driveable and all lights still work now I have temporarily propped them back in place, so still legal I think.

[Al U]

On the mobile so haven't looked where you are based but Finishline in Gravely, Hertfordshire are pretty good. I had some paint work and very minor body work done there on my S2000 last year and their paint skills really are great.

I am an automotive engineer so can be very picky with the finer details and wasn't disappointed. There were a few minor hitches with some missing fixings they put it back together but I would much rather they get things like that wrong that are very simple to correct than things like paint mismatch and finish. In their defence I was pushing them hard to get the car built back up earlier than they had promised for a road trip. They are usually booked for at least a month in advance which gives you an idea of their work and repeat business.

Finally, when I went to pick up my car there was a TVR griffith that they had done a full body respray on and it looked fantastic. HTH

[taylormj4]

Al U said:

On the mobile so haven't looked where you are based but Finishline in Gravely, Hertfordshire are pretty good. I had some paint work and very minor body work done there on my S2000 last year and their paint skills really are great.

I am an automotive engineer so can be very picky with the finer details and wasn't disappointed. There were a few minor hitches with some missing fixings they put it back together but I would much rather they get things like that wrong that are very simple to correct than things like paint mismatch and finish. In their defence I was pushing them hard to get the car built back up earlier than they had promised for a road trip. They are usually booked for at least a month in advance which gives you an idea of their work and repeat business.

Finally, when I went to pick up my car there was a TVR griffith that they had done a full body respray on and it looked fantastic. HTH

Sounds good thanks. I am also quite picky and am looking for a really good finish rather than a quick fix job. Reassuring that they already do TVRs. I will contact them. Thanks.

For the record, I'm based in South Wales.

[KKson]

Mate had his Griff heavily repaired following a front end shunt at Central TVR near Birmingham. They did a fantastic job. They are in new premises after their workshop fire last year. Only a couple of hours from Cardiff so maybe a bit nearer?

http://www.centraltvr.com/#

[pwd95]

Take it to Al @

http://www.alsaautomotive.co.uk/

He's done a couple of my previous TVR's. Absolutely top job.....

[taylormj4]

pwd95 said:

Take it to Al @

http://www.alsaautomotive.co.uk/

He's done a couple of my previous TVR's. Absolutely top job.....

Thanks. That's much more local. I can see a Chimaera on the website but it looks like they just do resprays. Did they just do a paintjob on your TVRs or bodywork repairs too? Mine needs fibreglass repair too.

[taylormj4]

KKson said:

Mate had his Griff heavily repaired following a front end shunt at Central TVR near Birmingham. They did a fantastic job. They are in new premises after their workshop fire last year. Only a couple of hours from Cardiff so maybe a bit nearer?

http://www.centraltvr.com/#

Cheers, I emailed them last night actually.

[TOV!E]

If you don't mind travelling then S@D has got to be your best call, all ex TVR sprayers..

[pwd95]

taylormj4 said:

Thanks. That's much more local. I can see a Chimaera on the website but it looks like they just do resprays. Did they just do a paintjob on your TVRs or bodywork repairs too? Mine needs fibreglass repair too.

Here's my thread. They restore the italian stuff to the highest standard mainly. He can repair/restore fibreglass/carbon fibre. There simply isn't a car he has't done, F40's the lot.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[blitzracing]

taylormj4 said:

Thanks. That's much more local. I can see a Chimaera on the website but it looks like they just do resprays. Did they just do a paintjob on your TVRs or bodywork repairs too? Mine needs fibreglass repair too.

I cant Imagen a paint shop cant deal with fibreglass- its basically the same stuff as body filler except for glass strands. The really important bit is to fully grind out even the smallest crack with a deep groove, and then refill using a fibreglass chopped mat paste. This is then levelled of with body filler, followed by primer and top coat. If you don't follow this process, the cracks will simply reappear in the fresh paint. Large repairs need fibreglass mat, followed by body filler. Its not rocket science, just takes time to do a good job. Its really important that everything is kept dry, as water held in the fibreglass will cause the paint to bubble, even years later.

[Yex 450]

taylormj4 said:

KKson said:

Mate had his Griff heavily repaired following a front end shunt at Central TVR near Birmingham. They did a fantastic job. They are in new premises after their workshop fire last year. Only a couple of hours from Cardiff so maybe a bit nearer?

http://www.centraltvr.com/#

Cheers, I emailed them last night actually.

You won't be disappointed if you choose Adrian and his team. Repaired my 450 to a stunning level a few years ago

[coco79]

Yex 450 said:

You won't be disappointed if you choose Adrian and his team. Repaired my 450 to a stunning level a few years ago

+1

[macdeb]

Frank at Option One in Bromsgrove Worcestershire. You wont get better.
PS; refreshing to know there are some decent folk out there that will own up. I would, but most wouldn't.

[taylormj4]

blitzracing said:

I cant Imagen a paint shop cant deal with fibreglass- its basically the same stuff as body filler except for glass strands. The really important bit is to fully grind out even the smallest crack with a deep groove, and then refill using a fibreglass chopped mat paste. This is then levelled of with body filler, followed by primer and top coat. If you don't follow this process, the cracks will simply reappear in the fresh paint. Large repairs need fibreglass mat, followed by body filler. Its not rocket science, just takes time to do a good job. Its really important that everything is kept dry, as water held in the fibreglass will cause the paint to bubble, even years later.

Just spoken to a TR bodyshop and the guy there was very knowledgeable and told me quite a few things in the process that I wouldn't have thought of, such as:

Not a good idea to do the repair for a few weeks after the damage as it takes a while for the stress to level out and the panels to stop cracking - an early repair can crack further after repair

Plus what you said above about the water ingress issue.

When they really come into their own is probably when the damage warrants cutting out a whole body section and feeding in a new piece from another body. I presume you have to be careful how you tie the old and new parts together or it could have a cut and shut effect in a later accident and just disintegrate without absorbing much energy ?

[taylormj4]

TOV!E said:

If you don't mind travelling then S@D has got to be your best call, all ex TVR sprayers..

S&D Autotec ? Have you had any work done there or seen any of their work ?

[330p4]

Frank at Option one is the man to go to he is a perfectionist. As yo say the gel coat cracks come out over a period of weeks but they strengthen from the repair topside damage then glass tissue the whole panel well beyond the damage ( probably to the door shuts in your case )to stop any stress cracks re appearing. He did my Ginetta fantastic job
Ian

[clive f]

I had my Chim bumped in Llandow, it went to Colins at TVRSSW, the repair was first class and the car was collected on a trailer. When I went down to pick it up, Tina picked me up from the railway station and took me to the garage. A few cuppas later I was off back to South Wales, Colin knows his TVR`s and you get a good service from them.

[steve j]

clive f said:

I had my Chim bumped in Llandow, it went to Colins at TVRSSW, the repair was first class and the car was collected on a trailer. When I went down to pick it up, Tina picked me up from the railway station and took me to the garage. A few cuppas later I was off back to South Wales, Colin knows his TVR`s and you get a good service from them.

Whoops I was logged in on clive f account, it was my chim that was bumped

[taylormj4]

Rang my insurance broker on the weekend and got through to a young girl working for a law company that handles my brokers claim line.

She told me that my car would likely be written off as it was a 15 year old car and anything more than a 6-inch scratch would cause it to be a write off.

I tried explaining to her that there was a difference in value between a 15-year old Micra and a 15-year old Ferrari (a car that I thought she might know as TVR obviously wasn't ringing any bells). Whilst the young lady accepted this is seemed a case of "Computer says no".

She sympathised with me in a patronising manner that she understood that it was pride and joy and I'd probably spent a lot of money on it but sorry if it's 15 years old it will have to go over to the 'salvage team' and they would send someone to pick it up.

After telling her that there was no way anyone even remotely related to 'salvage' was taking my car away, it became clear that the conversation was going nowhere.

She then informed me that as I had said that the boot was a little difficult to close, she had to mark the car down as un-roadworthy ! When I asked why, she told me it was because the boot lid was classed as an escape route so if it wasn't fully operable, it was un-roadworthy . I tried to explain that it was operable and there was no way the boot could be used as an escape route but she wasn't having any of it. Fair enough I suppose, you'd only have to remove the carpet, cut a hole in the body, remove the petrol tank and figure out a way of opening the boot from the inside . What do I know, I only own the car ha ha !

Fortunately, she then gave me the number of the underwriting company and I got through to a very chilled out chap who had heard of a TVR and could work out that it had a decent value and that the repairs would be only a fraction of that. Thank goodness !

In future, I will only be insuring the TVR with specialists who know the cars and understand their value and that sometimes they need to go to specialist repairers who are familiar with this type of car.

Edited by taylormj4 on Thursday 2nd June 17:49

[N7GTX]

Remember it is YOU who decides where the car is repaired, NOT the insurance company. They all try it on to keep costs down.